Kouros
by ian.michael
Summary: A dark haired artist falls in love with a blond model who he uses as the visage for his sculpture. Stuck in a studio for hours on end, their relationship unfolds the same way the sculpture evolves from a formless mass to that of a beautiful boy.
1. Chapter 1

WARNING: YAOI/LEMON/SASUNARU.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

ALRIGHT GUYS THIS IS FANFIC NUMBER TWO. I WANTED TO RELEASE THIS IN CONJUNCTION WITH ADAGIO, ADANTE, ALLEGRO. IT'S A LITTLE MORE… UH.. WELL GRAPHIC. THIS FIRST PART IS MORE OF A TEASER/INTRO TO KOUROS. THE ITALICIZED PART IS THE TEASER PORTION :D

**KOUROS**

BY: IAN-MICHAEL

DEFINITION-_Greek for youth; An Archaic Greek statue of a standing nude young male._

_Sasuke studied the nude blond standing on the pedestal while he worked his fingers into the cool clay, his eyes moving quickly but cautiously between the clay and the boy's body. _

_He was simply making the silhouette of the boy who was intensely staring at straight ahead of him, sometimes making eye contact with the busy artist. The blond, named Naruto, had given Sasuke the needed inspiration to create a masterpiece. Upon meeting the model, Sasuke remembered how Naruto embodied the very element of a kouros. His once faulting motivation to push forward with a sculpture was now fueled by a fire that came in human form._

_The light fixtures from the top of the room cast beautiful dark shadows on the model who was comfortably standing naked in front of him. His eyes were a piercing, evocative azure that caught pools of light in even the very dimmest of settings. His skin was made up seamless reflective cells that caught light and emitted a glow in the most breath-taking way. His hair was spun out of the most delicate strings of sunlight that danced above the oceans in his eyes. Naruto's body was just as perfect as his face. His body was lean and muscular with taunt skin hugging every turn, curve, and definition of his body. Sasuke wished that he could prolong the time he needed to use the boy as his model, in fact he had purposefully made mistakes during their time together just to lengthen the time he had with Naruto. _

_With each movement his fingers made along the clay, Sasuke cursed the cold sticky material wishing he could touch the blond instead. He had been longing to touch Naruto ever since he first walked into his studio and stripped down to his bare skin. The blond was pleasant and cool when he wasn't modeling for Sasuke, but as soon as he stood on the pedestal, ready to let Sasuke's eyes wander over his entirety, he was quiet and intense… almost intimidating._

_Naruto stood up there, again, just like the many days before, bearing himself to the dark haired artist who kept gazing at his body. He loved having those obsidian eyes roam his entirety, it excited him in ways that made his skin tighten. He thought this boy, Sasuke, was intriguing in a mysterious way. The blond was always drawn to artistic types such as writers, singers, musicians, and artists, but there was a darkness about Sasuke that created a gravitational force around Naruto which pulled him in. _

_At this point in time, Sasuke wasn't the only one studying a body. While Sasuke's eyes were diverted on the clay figure, he would yearningly gaze the dark haired boy's exposed upper body which had smudges of clay on its sides that were drying and cracking under the boy's movements. He delighted in how Sasuke's abs, chest, and obliques contracted under the pressure his fingers and arms placed on the clay. _

_The artist's features were on the complete opposite side of the spectrum as Naruto's features, which were yellows and browns. On the other hand, Sasuke had creamy marble colored skin, deep dark eyes, and raven hair. His eyes were able to hide so much it their depths, while Naruto's were full of emotion. Even so, the ambiguity in Sasuke's eyes made Naruto want more of the dark haired boy._

_As Naruto stood there, his thoughts revolved around Sasuke getting away from the clay figure and moving towards him with their eyes locked in heated intention. The raven haired boy pushed away the tables that were between them and then grabbed the blond by the waist, pulling them closer together. His right hand moved from the lower part of Naruto's back and traced his way up the blond's spine to his golden hair. As Sasuke's fire infused touch moved up Naruto's back, the blond threw his head back in pleasure giving out a breathy sigh. Sasuke ran his tongue along the blond's exposed throbbing neck while his left hand grabbed the firm round cheeks of Naruto's behind._

_The once silent blond was now moaning and writhing in pleasure as Sasuke rubbed their naked torsos together. In lust fueled desperation for more body contact, Naruto began unbuttoning Sasuke's pants as the raven haired boy continued to explore his body with his tongue. As soon as the button was undone, Naruto placed his fingers under Sasuke's underwear band and pulled down both his pants and underwear exposing the large, heated member. Following Sasuke's body downward, the blond got on his knees and looked up at the beautiful mysterious boy looking down on him. Keeping his gaze on the boy, he began to run his tongue along the head of Sasuke's erection, delighted in the low groans coming from Sasuke's throat as his eyelids grew heavy with desire. Naruto felt the raven haired boy's hands behind his head, desperately trying to push Naruto's warm mouth to the base of his pleading shaft. Finally, the blond conceded and pulled Sasuke's hips towards him, taking the boy fully into his mouth and tasting the salty cream at the tip of Sasuke's corona. He looked up again to see Sasuke throw his head back in complete wanton abandon._

_"Naruto…" came a baritone voice._

_Naruto's daydream was sudden moved back to reality. The scene was wiped out of Naruto's mind instantly as he focused on Sasuke, who was looking directly at his crotch._

_Naruto looked down and blushed, embarrassed that Sasuke saw his hardening member. So instinctively, he put his hands over himself and walked towards his clothes which were on a pile beside him._

Time was a constraint that had boxed the dark haired boy into this situation. He was presently a senior in college who was finishing up his last pieces for graduation. His ambitions had gotten the best of him, as he wanted to take on a sculpture as one of his final works. Granted he had done so much already, but the breadth of his pieces mostly revolved around acrylics, chalk, watercolors, and colored pencils. As he looked around, he felt so much accomplished at how much work he had done in just one semester. However, his professor had told him to expand out from his comfort zone and to try a sculpture to show just how much he could do in the art world. He remembered his professor's words but was hesitant in undertaking such a task. Now he had pushed it back to the point where he only had a month and a half to finish his sculpture.

He decided he wanted to use clay to realize this task because it was easier to manipulate than marble, wood, or any other type of material where that made it almost impossible to fix a mistake. Also, it would make it easier for him to paint on it after the sculpture had dried.

Now he only had to find a model…

**TBC**

**Thanks for reading! Please leave reviews! **


	2. Chapter 2

WARNING: YAOI/LEMON/SASUNARU. OH AND SOME NEJI/???. YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE. :D

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

APOLOGIES: I JUST GOT DONE WITH FINALS TODAY, I DO APOLOGIZE FOR THE TARDINESS IN WRITING. AND FOR THOSE OF YOU AWAITING ADAGIO, IT WILL BE UP SOON :D, I PROMISE.

**KOUROS PART I**

BY: IAN-MICHAEL

_Kouros -Greek for youth; An Archaic Greek statue of a standing nude young male._

Walking into Sasuke Uchiha's studio was like walking into a dream composed of pieces of memory's art which arrayed from watercolors to acrylics. Each individual work of art had an emotion entrapped within that was told through colors, textures, and detail. Every single sketch, line, stroke, and brush was made with a purpose behind it, Sasuke wasn't one of those artists that blindly threw paint at a piece of canvas, instead he constructed ideas and feelings which were always trailed by either his mind or heart. And although he was impressed with the amount of work he had done, and despite all the words of praise that were carelessly flung his way, he knew his breadth did not emphasize his talent with sculpting--a fact that he had escaped till the last few weeks of his senior year.

As he stood in the middle of his studio and gazed around he could only think about how he needed to fill the empty ground he had been standing on with a sculpture. He had already decided that he wanted to do a sculpture similar to a Greek kouros—which in his definition was a beautiful, statuesque, blond god. A sigh of frustration escaped his lips as he had realized that no one had shown interest in the ad he had placed in the newspaper.

**Looking for a model to do a sculpture. Preferably blond, tall, lean, and with no insecurities about posing nude. Will pay by the hour, money is not an issue.**

He sat in the middle of the room and crossed his legs. '_Why the hell would anyone not be interested? Well… aside from the whole nudity thing. There was a lot of money that could be made.'_

Sasuke was from one of the prominent families in New York. His life was surrounded by stuffy business suits, raised noses, and fake smiles that were used to study weakness of the competition or as they put it, 'friends.' He had grown out of the situation and learned to detest people that were associated with such high superficial standing. They all seemed to define themselves by the money, clothes, social status, and other such items that would later mean absolutely nothing. All the frustrations of growing up with expectations higher than the sky itself would later help form the majority of the emotions placed into the dark haired boy's pieces. He recalled the day he told his dad that he wanted to major in studio art, rather than business which all but started a week long argument within the family. Besides, he had never wanted to partake of the world his parents lived in, it was more of his brother's taste. Itachi was the perfect molded representation of what his parents wanted in a son—formality, strength, and resolve. Believe it or not, Sasuke never held any jealousy to his brother's attributes, instead he was proud to have a soul that he could claim he shaped himself.

During his time with his parents, Sasuke had grown to be rather detached from the two who would rather go on worldly vacations and spend money than spend time with their sons—he reasoned that this was the reason why Itachi had grown so cold, being alone as a child. The only relationship he had with them revolved around the facts that they provided him with a household and also a steady flow of money. In regards to his brother, Sasuke had come to think of his as a provider as well. The only things Itachi and him shared were raven hair, cream colored skin, and vortex-like eyes.

Now, his parents had retired and moved to Paris. They had given the family business to Itachi while still providing generously for Sasuke. He felt that the money they had given him was used to supplement their absence. In fact, Sasuke was given so much that he had problems spending all the money even with all the expensive art supplies and canvases he had to buy. So he would donate some of the money to a local school's art department while saving the rest.

In his four years in college, he could not remember one time that his parents had visited. In fact, ever since they moved away, he was starting to forget their faces—which was made evident in the portrait he did of his family where the only two who had faces were Itachi and him. In this portrait, his mother was identified by a pearl necklace, lifeless hair, and a navy blue monochromatic suit, while his dad was in a black suit with a white button-up and black tie.

In years with dealing with his family life, Sasuke saw that he had an almost nonexistent social repertoire which catalyzed his rather hermit-like life in college. Over time, he had learned to prefer being alone after being constantly harassed by the many idiotic, forceful girls that would brazenly throw themselves at him. Never once had Sasuke been attracted to any girl, to be truthful, he found their gushing despicable and pathetic. However, on lonely nights he would dream of some sort of male companion that he could describe as having the exact opposite physical characteristics as himself—blond hair, transparent eyes, and golden skin. He smiled to himself knowing now why he pictured the kouros the way he did.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On the other side of town, another scene was playing which involved a small town 22 year old boy who had moved to New York trying to escape the confines of growing up in a conservative town that despised him. He remembered coming out in high school, and all of a sudden his parents shunned him while some of the friends he held dear completely turned their backs on him. It didn't take long before his car and house were sprayed with hateful messages that basically revolved around a central message, "FAG." His only friend in that town was Hinata Hyuga who had accepted him and supported him through all the hard times. In fact, it was she who had given him the idea of moving to New York with her cousin Neji, who was also gay and dealing with his own set of issues.

"Neji, I need to make some extra money," sighed Naruto as he was checking his bank account online. "I thought bartenders were suppose to make a lot of money."

"Yeah tell me about it, especially at a gay bar, where we're expected to be shirtless," Neji replied.

They had both been working at a local bar and were barely getting by with rent and bills. Sad to say, neither had money for leisurely spending on fancy clothes, upscale dinners, or going out on a weekly basis. The two of them had been looking for a part time job to do along with their bartending so that they could at least enjoy their younger years.

"Neji, I hope that by the time I get to your age, I'll have enough money to buy some fancy stuff," Naruto smirked, knowing the reaction that was going to come out of his roommate.

"Naruto, I AM NOT OLD! I am only two years older than you!" Neji glared at the blond sitting at the dinner table.

"Don't get your panties in a twist… Granny," Naruto chuckled.

"THAT'S IT!" Neji left the dishes in the sink and ran after Naruto with lemony suds in his hand.

With a quickness, Neji had managed to tackle Naruto to the ground and rub the soapy bubbles all over the blond's face and clothes.

The blond began to spit out a mixture of saliva and liquid soap. "Eck! God, you're fast!" As he felt the bubbles dissolve, he peeked to see Neji straddling him.

Neji leaned in closer to Naruto with glazed eyes, "Apologize. Or I will grab that entire bottle, pour it in your mouth, and finish doing the dishes in that big loud mouth of yours."

Naruto giggled a bit at first, but realized Neji wasn't kidding. "Okay, okay… I'm sorry."

"Good." And with that Neji got off the blond and returned to the kitchen to finish the dishes.

Naruto watched as Neji's walked away. He was glad that Neji was in his life because Neji was like an older brother. Although Naruto had to admit there was a time when he wanted Neji more as a lover than as an older brother. He remembered when he first saw Neji after he arrived in New York. Hinata's cousin had long, deep, mahogany brown hair, almost translucent eyes, and flawless skin. He was probably the most stunning boy he had ever seen in his short life. However, as time passed by, the blond's feelings for Neji had matured from lust to that of respect and admiration.

Neji, on the other, had an opposite reaction in meeting Naruto the first time. The first thing he noticed about Naruto was his huge grin that was beaming with mischief. At first, Neji was annoyed by the blond's seemingly endless banter. However, as time graced their relationship, Neji saw that Naruto grew more speech competent, instead of just rambling idly about some pointless subject matter. He reasoned that the blond was naturally chatty and uneasy around people he met for the first time, but as he got comfortable, he would relax. It was in these moments of silence that Neji began to appreciate Naruto's handsome features—a defined jawline, golden skin, sun-kissed hair, and most notably his fluidly blue eyes.

They had both been living together for a few months now and had almost grown dependent on the other's company in the big city. Naruto relied on Neji's quiet strength, while Neji saw Naruto as his source of laughs and smiles. It was a trade-off each of the boys truly appreciated and cared for.

As Neji finished off the dishes, he made his way to blond who was now resituated at the dinner table. "Oh, by the way, there was an ad in the newpaper that sounded just like you." The mahogany haired boy handed the newspaper to Naruto, who was now curiously looking at the huge black circle Neji drew around the ad.

**Looking for a model to do a sculpture. Preferably blond, tall, lean, and with no insecurities about posing nude. Will pay by the hour, money is not an issue.**

Blond eyebrows furrowing, Naruto flicked Neji's arm.

"Ow, what the hell was that for?"

"Sounds just like me huh? You make me sound like a stripper, Neji," Naruto grunted angrily.

Rubbing his arm, Neji answered the blond's poisoned tone, "Well except for that, but think about it, Naruto. Whoever put up that ad apparently has a lot of money, and all you have to do is stand there with your naught bits out for a few hours while he makes a sculpture. Just give the number a call and see what they are willing to pay."

"I don't know… stripping down to nothing in front of a complete stranger. Sounds creepy, Neji."

"Naruto, it's just skin. I think everybody in the world knows what a penis looks like," reassured Neji.

"It DOES sound like easy money though," Naruto said with sigh.

Neji walked over to Naruto and patted him on the back, "Just call, if it creeps you out then don't do it. I only suggested it because it seems like the ad basically described you."

"Hmm.. can't hurt right?" And with that Naruto walked over to the phone and dialed.

Sasuke was sitting in the middle of his studio again carefully studying his art until his phone rang. Blank thoughts ran through his head as he walked over to the phone, almost completely giving up on the idea that anybody would be interested in his ad. Picking up the phone he heard a new voice—he had expected some kind of voice recorded tele-marketer.

"Uh—hello. I'm calling for the ad," Naruto pushed. The voice resounded with every tone of a baritone with a childish nervousness behind it.

Eyes opened with hope, Sasuke went on to answer, "Are you serious? You do match the specifications I listed don't you? And you did read about the nude part, correct?" The voice was so cool and deep that Naruto could feel the mystery that exuded through the phone, but with that mystery came a very straight to the point approach that could be interpreted as rude and arrogant.

A little agitated that the other boy questioned him, Naruto answered, "Of course, I wouldn't waste your time."

"That's good to hear," replied Sasuke. "I actually want to meet you first before I say yes. That is okay, right?"

_'It's like he's asking me a question but at the same time ordering me around,' _Naruto snickered. "Okay fine, but I refuse to show up anywhere that's not public. Who knows… you might be a murderer or something."

"And you might be out to get my money," Sasuke retorted.

"Speaking of money… how much are you willing to pay?" Naruto couldn't help himself, he had to ask. It was the main reason he wanted to take the ad anyway.

Sasuke was amused by the blond's question because there was a tone to it that was similar to how children plead their parents for a new toy. "We'll talk about that after I see you. What's your name by the way?"

"Naruto Uzumaki. And yours?"

"Sasuke Uchiha." The raven haired boy was beginning to get entertained at the blond's growing aggression over the phone. He found it a bit, dare he say, 'cute.'

Naruto breathed the other boy's name. _'He has a nice name.'_

"So where do you want to meet, Naruto Uzumaki?"

"How about an ice cream place, Sasuke Uchiha," Naruto was beginning to become aggravated at the formality of the conversation.

"Alright, how about… The Parlor on Commerce."

Thinking that they were going to make plans later on in the week, Naruto answered, "Sounds good. When do you want to meet up?"

"In an hour, I expect to see you there." Sasuke couldn't wait. He didn't have time to put the meeting off for a few days. Plus there was a part of him that was dying to see if the boy on the other line really did match the description he placed in the newspaper.

"Ugh, will do. Oh and by the way--." Naruto did honestly try to keep his reaction down, but he could not stand for this kind of conversation, especially if they were to meet face to face.

"What?"

"Get that stick out of your ass before you get to the ice cream place."

click

Sasuke chuckled to himself. He found Naruto's personality real and rather tolerating. _'At least he doesn't seem boring.'_

**TBC.**

**Thanks for reading! Please leave a review, it helps writers like me improve by learning what you like and don't like. Just please be constructive. :D**_  
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	3. Chapter 3

WARNING: YAOI/LEMON/SASUNARU/MAJOR OOC-ness. OH AND SOME NEJI/???. YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE. :D ALSO THIS PART OF THE FIC IS MORE CONVERSATIONAL.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

THANKS: goes out to my anonymous reviewers. This is the only way I could thank you because I couldn't find emails or anything to reply to you. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate it :D

KOUROS PART II

BY: IAN-MICHAEL

_Kouros -Greek for youth; An Archaic Greek statue of a standing nude young male._

Naruto hung up the phone with a feeling of content. The other boy on the phone was like a robot—a robot with a stick up its ass. "God! What a prick!"

"What's wrong, Naruto," asked Neji with a raised brow.

The pissed off blond made his way to the dinner table and crossed his arms as he sat down. "He seems so damn smug… it irks me."

"And yet you still agreed to meet him? Are you sure he irked you? Or maybe he sparked your curiousity," Neji chuckled.

"Yeah well… he sparked something alright, if he gives me even one smart ass remark I'll put him in his place. Rich or not, I don't care," stammered Naruto.

"Sure, sure," Neji replied, not believing the blond, "So what's his name?"

Naruto sighed as he muttered the boy's name in an almost short and abrupt manner, "Sasuke Uchiha."

Neji's crystal eyes instantly opened up to twice their size at the sound of the name. "Uchiha… like rich gabillionaire Uchihas?"

"Sure, why not?" Naruto shrugged, "I don't know about any Uchiha, Neji."

Neji went over to Naruto who was face flat on the table with his hands holding his head down. He grabbed Naruto's hair and brought Naruto's face from the table, "Naruto! The Uchihas are probably one of the richest families in the WORLD. Did you hear me?! The WORLD!"

Naruto's ears perked up. "So I could probably make some good money, right? I mean… he wants to meet me first before he offers me an hourly."

"After meeting you he'll probably end up making his offer higher. Don't worry," Neji reassured.

With a nod, the blond gave a smirk. 'Okay, Naruto, just think… deal with the bastard, get money to buy nice stuff.'

Neji who was confused as to why Naruto was still sitting there thinking to himself, yelled, "Now go get ready! And try to look good because the better you look the more he'll pay!"

Sasuke had already been sitting in the ice cream parlor for thirty minutes. He absolutely loathed people that had no regard for time—he thought it was inconsiderate and rude. 'I told him to get his ass over here quick. What the hell is he doing?"

Looking out the window, he saw a yellow flash run past and opened the door with such a ruckus that everyone looked up. The blond boy standing at the door was huffing and heaving like he had run a marathon. There was a little sweat coming down his temples as he started looking around the room. Sasuke stared at the boy wondering, and now hoping, that this was the Naruto Uzumaki he had talked to on the phone. 'He's gorgeous,' thought Sasuke. The blond looked a little disheveled, but nevertheless looked utterly beautiful—he had soft blond hair that floated over the azure pools in his eyes and golden skin that gleamed with droplets of sweat. He wore a pinstripe button up shirt which was tucked into dark slim fitting jeans which had little wet splotches near the shoes. 'Exactly what I was looking for…'

Naruto was looking around and was trying to find the one named Sasuke Uchiha. 'Fuck… I forgot to ask how he looked.' Still trying to catch his breath, he placed his hands on his knees and tried to slow his breathing.

"Hey," came a familiar voice.

The blond tried to look up at the source of the voice, but his journey up was interrupted as he stared straight in front of him—he gulped. Right in front of him, a few inches away, was someone's crotch. 'Oh my god…'

"I'm up here, pervert," Sasuke said as he watched the blond stare continuously at the lower portion of his body.

Jerking his head up to face the dark haired boy, Naruto clenched his fists. "I am NOT a pervert. Plus it was you who shoved YOUR stuff in front of MY face." The boy standing directly in front of him was wearing a dark gray v-neck shirt with black skinny jeans. He had perfect, creamy skin which contrasted to his black eyes and hair.

Sasuke enjoyed the blond's aggressive tone. "I would do no such thing. All I was trying to do was say hello, Naruto Uzumaki."

"You… you are… Sasuke Uchiha," asked the blond who was now calming down remembering he had to make a good impression on the artist.

The dark haired boy nodded and lead them to a booth beside the window. Naruto hated to admit it, but the smug bastard was actually more attractive than he figured. If Naruto had a weakness, it was for dark haired, dark eyed, mysterious artists or musicians. He sighed remembering his entrance. He wished there was a wooden wall nearby that he could smack his forehead into, 'God I must look like a damn idiot. I can't believe I just stood there looking at his… at his… STUFF!'

When they reached the booth, they took seats opposite of each other. Sasuke looked at the blond who was now blushing and trying to avoid eye contact.

"Is there something on my face? Or do you need to use the restroom," Sasuke asked in his usual sarcastic tone.

"Neither. I just.. I.." Naruto trailed. The blond couldn't believe he was actually at a loss for words. 'Great, he probably thinks I have a speech impediment now.'

Sasuke smiled inwardly, hoping the reason for Naruto's blundering was an interest in him. "So may I ask why you're late?"

'Ah thank god! A question I can answer," Naruto thought triumphantly. "Well I live north of here and I have to take the subway. I kind off missed the one I planned on taking." He had to push, or rather force himself for this next part, "S.. Sorry."

Sasuke's ears couldn't believe that the loud mouth, smart ass was actually apologizing to him. "Accepted," came a reply. "Aren't you going to apologize for one more thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you were staring at my crotch for awhile. It was an invasion of my personal space," smirked Sasuke who was trying to get a rise out of the blond.

Fire came to Naruto's eyes as he glared at the self-righteous look on the dark haired boy. "I was NOT staring at your crotch. And don't even start on the personal space thing, because it was YOU who decided to get that close to me." Naruto could feel the blood rush to his cheeks as he replayed the moment in his head, and in an attempt to hide his blushing cheeks, he looked out the window.

'He's interesting,' Sasuke thought as he stared at the pink tinge around the blond's cheeks. "Well how about some ice cream? I've been waiting for you so that I could finally order."

Naruto turned towards Sasuke and shot him a big grin, "Yeah! I've been craving ice cream for hours now!"

The two of them got up and ordered. Sasuke got a coffee flavored ice cream with bits of heath and walnuts which was placed in a waffle cone. Naruto, on the other hand, had a large order of cake batter flavored ice cream with strawberries and gummy bears, AND another large order of vanilla ice cream with mint chocolate chunks. Sasuke was almost revolted that the blond was actually thinking of eating both orders of ice cream, but was amused at the grin on Naruto's face—it was similar to the expression on a child's face during Christmas.

As they reached the cashier, she asked "Is this together or separate?"

Sasuke looked over at Naruto who was fidgeting with his wallet, trying to find some cash. The dark haired boy turned to the cashier and said, "Together."

All the rustling noises coming from Naruto's wallet had suddenly stopped as he heard Sasuke say, "Together." He was more in a state of shock than gratitude. "You didn't have to pay for me, Sasuke," said Naruto who was looking down at his wallet.

"Nonsense. I asked you to meet me so it should be my treat."

'So he's not a complete asshole,' Naruto thought with a smile. "Thank you, Sasuke."

"Don't worry about it," Sasuke reassured. Watching Naruto trying to balance the large bowls of ice cream was rather entertaining for the raven haired boy, "I don't honestly believe you can finish those two large orders of ice cream, so let's get back to the table because I have to see this with my own eyes."

Finally gaining balance while holding the two bowls of ice cream, Naruto smirked with a spoon in his mouth, "Don't worry, this will be soooo easy!"

"I've got to see this."

Only fifteen minutes had passed since they sat back down at the booth, and Naruto was almost done with one of the ice cream bowls which was the size of his head, including his hair.

Sasuke gaped at the lean framed boy sitting down in front of him and couldn't believe how fast he was putting away the ice cream. "I have never seen anything like this in my life…"

The only answer given was a series of broken muffles as Naruto continued making his way to the bottom of the bowl.

"You're making me full," said Sasuke in disgust as he pushed his ice cream cone away.

Naruto smirked with a victorious look on his face. "Bowl number one is DONE! And don't worry, Sasuke, if you can't finish your ice cream, I will." The blond then pushed the empty bowl to the side and grabbed the second one, which was melting a bit.

Sasuke continued staring in a mixture of awe and aversion. "You're like a… machine."

"YEAP," Naruto exclaimed with a piece of mint chocolate on the side of his lip. He looked at Sasuke who was pointing at his face. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"You either have a large mole beside your lip or a piece of chocolate," Sasuke almost had to turn away at the sight of melted ice cream around Naruto's lips.

"Oh!" With that the blond simply darted his tongue to the side and pulled the mint chocolate into his mouth. "GOT IT!"

"You are so embarrassing," said Sasuke with a sigh as he noticed some of the workers gawk at Naruto.

His comment was only greeted by more muffled sounds as Naruto continued to spoon the ice cream into his large grinning mouth.

'He's kind of cute. Even though he is eating like a pig,' Sasuke thought with a hidden smile. "How do you—. Ugh, I'll wait until your done before I even ask you a question."

Another ten minutes passed before Naruto wiped his mouth with a paper towel and pushed the second bowl over. The blond smiled in complete satisfaction, "Man, I'm stuffed."

Sasuke couldn't believe he had just witnessed what happened in front of him. With shocked eyes, he stuttered, "I—I—I can't believe it! How do you eat like that and still keep yourself so.. fit?"

"I've never really had a problem," came a reply, followed by a burp. "Good genetics, I guess?"

"Do you know how much sugar you just ingested? Most people would go into a diabetic coma after that feat."

The blond felt accomplished and somewhat important as he saw how Sasuke was reacting, "Well I'm not most people." The dark eyed boy in front of him was still staring at him. "So are we going to talk about this modeling thing or not?"

"Well after seeing you eat like that, I'm starting to have second thoughts, but I will admit that you are exactly what I'm looking for."

"So do you want me or not?"

It was Sasuke's turn to blush. He knew what Naruto meant, but the phrase also had other meanings as well. He composed himself and replied, "Yeah, I think you would be perfect… just… just don't eat like that in front of me again."

"Then don't take me out to eat," Naruto laughed. He was relieved that Sasuke wanted him, then he remembered the issue of money. "So how much are you going to pay?"

"Does, fifty dollars an hour sound good?" Sasuke didn't really know how much posing nude hourly would amount to but he figured fifty an hour sounded just right.

Naruto's eyes almost fell out of their sockets at the hourly the Uchiha offered. "F-fifty an—an hour?! That's great! I'll take it!"

"Good. So we'll start tomorrow?"

"Yeah sounds good. I do have to say that I can only work for you in the mornings or afternoons because I work late at night."

Naruto's comment triggered Sasuke's curiosity. "Where do you work?"

Naruto couldn't believe he just divulged that information. Once he told Sasuke where he worked, it would make a few more details about Naruto very obvious. "I.. well I work at… Station 4 as a bartender."

Sasuke grinned at the familiar sounding bar--it was one of the more popular gay bars in New York. He had to admit that the possibility of Naruto being gay excited him. If he had to witness anyone else eat like that, Sasuke probably would have just walked away in pure angry disgust. But for some reason watching Naruto amused him in a way that even he found surprising. "I've heard of that place before. So does that mean you're gay?" Sasuke didn't know how to phrase it, his social skills were very limited at best.

"WHAT!? You just don't ask someone you just met if they're gay," yelled Naruto. The blond sensed everybody looking at him as he sunk back into the booth.

Sasuke who had set his mind on finding out, asked again, "Well are you?"

"Even though it's none of your business, YES. I am gay. I basically came here so I could be gay…" Naruto's bright eyes all of a sudden dimmed.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I didn't mean it like that…" he trailed off feeling that he had pushed the blond into a rather uncomfortable situation.

"No, it's fine. It's just that.. I'm from a really small down in the south. One of those little country towns where every one knows your business and religious conservatives dominate. Once I came out everybody turned on me, so I moved here with one of my friend's cousins to be… I guess you could say… free…"

"Again, I'm sorry if I upset you… I didn't know. I guess I just wanted to know because.. well I am too." Sasuke thought it was some kind of consolation since Naruto had told him.

Naruto's mood heightened at Sasuke's confession. 'Whoo hoo!'

Sasuke could see a smile on the previously saddened blond. "So are we okay now?"

Naruto nodded and giggled, "Yeah we are, but you didn't have to tell me, you know… you are just SO obvious."

Sasuke was now regretting his efforts to console the blond, who was now rambling off on how obviously gay Sasuke was.

"You're just too pretty Sasuke. I knew once I saw you. And your hair, you have to straighten it and use product to get it like that—"

The blond was suddenly interrupted as Sasuke shoved his melting ice cream cone into Naruto's mouth. "You forgot to eat this one," smirked Sasuke.

Naruto's eyes were about to glare at Sasuke until he tasted the ice cream. 'Mmm! This is good!'

Sasuke just rolled his eyes as he watched Naruto finish the coffee flavored ice cream.

As Naruto wiped his lips Sasuke asked, "So what time can you meet me tomorrow?"

"Well how long do you need me for," questioned Naruto.

Sasuke thought about the things he had to accomplish with the sculpture, "About five hours."

"Oh my god! That's like two hundred and fifty dollars! Well I could go over from two in the afternoon to seven at night. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah. That's fine. Just make sure you're on time," replied Sasuke remembering how late the blond was to their meeting.

"No problem."

Sasuke wrote his address down on a piece of paper and gave it to Naruto who placed it in his wallet. The two of them got up and walked outside of the ice cream parlor.

Naruto was about to say his farewells to the dark eyed boy, when he noticed Sasuke looking up at the sky. 'He's so handsome…'

He nudged the dark eyed boy, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Sasuke."

Sasuke turned to the blond, "Yeah. Tomorrow. On time right?"

With a nod and smile Naruto turned to walk towards the subway.

Unknown to the blond, Sasuke stood there watching Naruto walk off. There was something stirring in him that wasn't familiar. He actually enjoyed being around the bumbling blond and as he saw Naruto walk away, he felt a familiar loneliness surround him that was absent when he was around Naruto. 'Tomorrow…' he thought with a smile.

TBC

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

First of all, I would like to apologize for my recent lack of updates to all my stories. It's been a busy few weeks with graduations, family, job hunting, and transferring data from my old laptop to my new one. Again, I do apologize because I definitely did want to update.

Second of all, I REALLY appreciate all the great reviews I've been getting. I really wish I had time in the previous weeks to reply to them all, but there really wasn't—I barely had enough time to update my stories. Thankfully that's all passed and now I can write.

For those of you reading Golden Sentinel and Adagio… I will be updating in the next few days. Again, I do apologize for the long absence and lack of updates.

Again, I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

Kouros IV

By: Ian-Michael

Sasuke had been pacing around his studio for the past hour and a half waiting for the blond boy to knock on his door so he could start molding the sculpture's silhouette. If he could describe why he was walking from wall to wall he would probably describe it as a mixture of impatience to begin his project and nervousness at seeing the blond boy. It was only thirty minutes until two—the time the boy was suppose to show up. 'Only thirty more minutes,' Sasuke thought as he kicked some wiring towards a pile--he was planning on soldering the pieces of metal wiring together to hold the structure up under the clay. 'This is utter torture, that glutton is going to be late,' Sasuke mused, remembering how Naruto had practically devoured ten pounds of ice cream in one sitting. Even though the image appalled Sasuke, he couldn't help but imperceptibly smirked at how endearing the blond looked smiling with ice cream on his nose.

The illustrationi in his head dissolved as soon as he heard a knocking on his door. 'No way… can't be," Sasuke thought in disbelief because he truly didn't expect the blond to be there until after two. Walking towards the door, Sasuke could hear the knocking become louder and more desperate for some form of greeting. "Coming," Sasuke yelled, almost at the door--the knocks all of a sudden coming to a stop.

"Well then hurry the hell up! If this is what I get for coming early then I'll never do it again," came a shrill reply whose voice Sasuke recognized almost immediately.

Once Sasuke opened the door, he saw Naruto leaning on the doorframe with a displeased look on his face with his bangs flowing above his eyes. The normally stoic dark haired boy gave a light chuckle at Naruto's childlike impatience, "Calm down. You waited what… an extra five seconds?"

"You could have said something instead of letting me knock on your door like some stark raving lunatic," replied Naruto shoving his way past Sasuke and making his way to the middle of the room.

Sasuke turned around to look at Naruto who was now staring at the large studio filled with artwork. The dark haired boy smirked, "I don't think I invited you in yet?"

To his surprise, Naruto didn't retaliate or give some scathing remark. Instead, he just stood there looking around with big blue eyes that seemed to have forgotten how to blink. Naruto couldn't help his awe-stricken state because the room looked like a museum—a museum filled with some rather dark artwork… but they were eye-catching, nonetheless. However, it wasn't the nature of Sasuke's craft that intrigued Naruto, it was more of the technique and the detail that seemed to give each painting an unwavering realism. He couldn't believe all this artistry before him came from the mind, heart, and hands of the smug bastard behind him. His intrigue was later followed by a sense of sadness, which was perpetuated through the dark colors used in the paintings. Sure, there were reds, blues, greens, yellows, and other such colors but on the easel they were probably mixed with black or brown to wane their intensity. Noticing that none of Sasuke's art pieces had any sentiment of joy, Naruto could feel a sense of pity and compassion towards Sasuke wondering what had happened in his life to completely blank out positive emotions from his artwork.

Sasuke grew irritated with the blond boy who was now ignoring him, "Hey, idiot, I'm talking to you."

Naruto heard Sasuke all too well. The compassion and pity he had felt but a mere second earlier were now taken back, at least for now. "You really are a bastard aren't you? I was just going to compliment you on how great your work is, but now… now forget it." With that the blond crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at Sasuke.

Sasuke grinned at how Naruto had inadvertently insulted and complimented him at the same time and moved his way over to the blond. "It's okay. I get praise all the time from my professors and other students."

The to-be model just rolled his eyes and replied, "Well, I see someone's drank their pretentious protein shake this morning in MASS amounts. So what are we doing today, Uchiha?"

For some reason Naruto's remarks never moved Sasuke to anger, rather they made him smile. All of his life, Sasuke was surrounded by a group of socialites that hated one other, yet were rather civil and jovial when around each other. For example, it would irk him to see his parents badmouth a certain family, and then during social gatherings they would seem like the dearest of friends. He didn't understand how his parents could be so… fake. He liked that Naruto never bit his tongue and that he was constantly speaking his mind--emphasis on the constantly. Naruto was the product of the trials and realities of the real world—a trait Sasuke found engaging.

Naruto felt insecure as he noticed Sasuke studying him. "Hey! I said what are we doing today?"

Sasuke shook his head, making his bangs dance in front of his eyes, as he realized he had been basically gawking at Naruto. "Oh, sorry. Just making… a mental note of your proportions."

With a blond eyebrow raised, Naruto replied, "And do my proportions please you?"

Hearing the rather sly remark from Naruto made Sasuke's cheeks flush. In a tactical motion, Sasuke looked down so that his bangs covered his cheeks. "Yes. Actually… they're almost perfect."

Naruto yelled in disbelief, "ALMOST!?"

Feeling the reddening of cheeks disappear at Naruto's response, Sasuke chuckled and answered the stunned blond, "Yeah, well, I haven't seen you naked yet, so I can't really say it's perfect… can I?"

"Great. Now you're a pervert and a bastard. So will you now answer my question?"

Sasuke looked puzzled, "What question?"

The blond boy rolled his eyes, "I asked you earlier what we are doing today."

"Oh. Well today I am taking your measurements so that I can work on the framing of the sculpture."

Naruto looked lost, "Framing?"

Sasuke pointed at the pieces of metal wiring beside them and the welder, "Well you see, I didn't plan on using clay for the entire sculpture. I wanted to use the metal wiring to make the silhouette of your body and then I would just apply clay over it so that it would have a strong support."

"That makes sense. Alright, I'm ready. Measure me!"

Sasuke smirked at the blond's eagerness. "Alright, well, take off your clothes."

The blue eyed boy felt his body redden and his throat dry at the command, "WHAT!?"

The dark haired artist couldn't help but laugh inwardly at the blond's reaction, "You can't argue now. Remember in the ad, you knew you had to be nude for the sculpture. We even talked about it yesterday, idiot."

Naruto's usually wide eyes, narrowed as they gazed into black. "Look here, Uchiha, I will take off my clothes, but only to my boxers. Besides, you only said you were doing the silhouette with the wiring today. It's not like you're going to sculpt my STUFF today anyway. Plus, if I'm in my boxers, you can still get all the measurements you need." The blond felt relieved after making his argument because it was logical and thought,_ 'Haha! Take that, bastard!'_

Sasuke just looked back into the narrowed slits of Naruto's eyes, "Well, I won't be able to get ALL the measurements, but fine I will allow you this one grace day." The artist knew it sounded a little smug, but he was really intrigued by seeing Naruto's lively reactions—it was almost like a contest to see who could outwit the other.

After hearing Sasuke's reply, Naruto felt relieved—he knew that he had to get naked sometime, but it was only the second day he knew the Uchiha. With a victorious smile on, Naruto retorted, "Great! Just give me a few seconds."

Sasuke's black eyes widened in shock as Naruto began undressing right there in front of him. He could feel his eyes glued to Naruto's stomach as the blond began to pull his shirt over his head—revealing a toned and tanned torso that ridged and sunk into the right places to form Naruto's taut stomach.

With his shirt halfway up and covering his face, Naruto teasingly said, "Sasuke, I trust you won't be fantasizing about me while I undress. That's very unprofessional."

Black eyes blinked in response to the remark, "Hm.. I think being unprofessional is undressing in front of me. You know I do have a bathroom here."

Finally pulling off his shirt, Naruto was faced with dark eyes. "Just kidding, geez. Plus I'm almost done."

Sasuke could hear himself gulp as he was looking at a half naked Naruto. Not only was Naruto's handsome face and flowing hair perfect, but also his body, which was what what Sasuke envisioned for the sculpture. The blond was lean, muscular, and beautiful with radiant golden skin. Everything about Naruto's body seemed aesthetically planned and perfected—Sasuke couldn't believe that he had that body with the eating habits he witnessed the day before.

The blue eyed boy was now looking down at his jeans trying to unbutton his jeans, but seemed to be having some trouble. All of a sudden Sasuke heard the button release, so he turned around to prevent himself from staring.

Naruto looked up to find Sasuke with his back turned to him and with mockingly sad eyes asked, "Does my body disgust you or something? Is it SO bad that you have to turn around?"

Sasuke tried to sound collected as he answered, "Actually I think it would be rude if I just stood there looking at you while you undressed… idiot."

The blond mentally put a tally mark beside his name as he replied, "Didn't stop you earlier."

Calm black eyes widened in embarrassment. "I didn't stare."

"Yeah, and I'm a ninja."

Sasuke felt defeated—like a mouse caught in a corner by a huge looming cat. "Ugh. I was really just amazed how you can stay so… fit… even with your disgusting eating habits."

Naruto smiled and pulled Sasuke around to face him again, "Like I said, good genes!"

Sasuke's eyes were greeted by a lean muscular physique with blue eyes wearing… frog boxers—the boxers were white, but had a large face of a frog on the front of them. The black haired artist could feel himself cringe at the sight in front of him--the blond was so beautiful and so attractive, yet those damned frog boxers really killed the entire image Sasuke had sought to see.

Naruto looked questioningly at the digusted look on Sasuke's face—it was similar to the one he had on his face when Naruto ate ice cream the other day. "Eh. What's wrong?"

"Those boxers… they're disgusting."

All the blond did was smile, "I think it's cute!"

"No. Actually, it's rather far from it."

"But look Sasuke," Naruto pointed to the button holding the front of his boxers together, "his nose is made from a button!"

Sasuke felt himself redden entirely at the almost naked boy in front of him who was now pointing directly at his crotch. His first reaction was to turn around, to hide his blushing face and reply, "Seriously, Naruto, disgusting."

Naruto mentally smiled and added another tally mark to his side. "Okay come on let's get this over with."

Feeling his skin cool, Sasuke turned around to look at Naruto. "Yeah."

The blond knew when Sasuke blushed because he always tried to do something to hide it which he found rather 'cute.' However, the dark haired boy's ability to quickly recover from blushing was rather extraordinary—a trick Naruto mentally noted to ask him about later.

Sasuke brought out a tape measure and began to take Naruto's dimensions. There were many things that Naruto hadn't realized Sasuke had to do because all he thought the artist needed were height, waist, and hips. However, Sasuke also had to measure Naruto shoulder to shoulder, shoulder to the end of the middle finger, neck length, torso length, chest measurements, thighs, and also calves. He couldn't help but follow Sasuke with his eyes as the artist moved over his body with the tape measure, using his pale fingers to press the tape into his tanned skin.

The artist began to get nervous being followed by Naruto's constant gaze, "Hey, Naruto… do you mind closing your eyes? You're making me kinda nervous…"

"Okay, just don't do anything I wouldn't like," chuckled the blond.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I assure you I won't. Who's the pervert now?"

The only reply that Naruto gave was a light chuckle as he let Sasuke work on taking his measurements. Inwardly, he wondered if closing off one of the senses intensified the others.

Sasuke let out a sigh of relief as he could now continue. He looked at Naruto's face and almost didn't recognize him because the usual comical expressions on the blond's face were replaced with a quiet intensity that reminded Sasuke of himself. Moving his way around Naruto's body with the tape measure, he noticed that the tanned skin was pleasantly warm and smelled of sugar and vanilla. His body was, in Sasuke's opinion, perfect. The blue eyed boy's back had a hollow that plunged underneath his boxers emphasizing the aesthetic V-shaped torso. He delighted in the contact between the tips of his fingers and the blond's tepid skin.

Naruto felt Sasuke measuring his back and was wondering what the artist thought of his body—obviously Sasuke thought it was rather impressive considering how many times he had blushed within the past hour. He noticed that Sasuke was moving further down his back and finally moved down to his hips, which were still covered by cartoon frogs on cloth. Careful arms moved around his hips and pulled the tape measure tight—the blond gulped as Sasuke's arm brushed against the front of his boxers ever so slightly. With that, Naruto now believed in the myth that he previously questioned—apparently, turning off one sense will strengthen the others. When he felt the tape measure relax and move, Naruto sighed quietly, relieved that the corporeal pressure around his hipbones was now gone. Suddenly, he felt Sasuke's fingers around his upper thigh—a rather sensitive area for the blond. Thankfully, Sasuke was behind him, otherwise the dark haired artist would have seen Naruto bite his lip at the sensation of being touched. He could feel a fire moving up his thigh originating from where Sasuke pressed the tape measure into his skin. A part of him wanted Sasuke's hands to move higher up, while the rest just wished that Sasuke would hurry up so that he could stop squirming. Then to his delight and disapproval, Sasuke finished taking the measurements around his upper thighs and continued moving along the tanned boy's body.

Sasuke could have spent hours exploring the model's body, but didn't want to waste the working boy's time. He did, however, throw in a few unnecessary measurements to lengthen their time, such as the distance between both blond eyebrows, the width of his nose, and even the length of his collarbones. Facing the blond, with lips mere inches from each other, Sasuke felt the urge to kiss the pink lips, wondering if they tasted like vanilla and sugar. The boy in front of him could have well been the man he had thought about so many times before in his dreams. Closing his eyes, he began to move towards Naruto's lips.

Naruto was confused not feeling Sasuke or the tape measure on his body. And before Sasuke could kiss him, Naruto with eyes still closed, asked, "Hey Sasuke you done?"

With that Sasuke immediately opened his eyes and moved back away from Naruto. He felt like an idiot for even thinking about stealing a kiss. "Yeah, I'm done."

Upon opening his blue eyes, Naruto was met by Sasuke's eyes which had a rather sad expression in its depths. "Hey is everything okay? If you're not done…"

"No, I'm done. Sorry about that… I'm just a little stressed," the Uchiha lied.

"If you say so," Naruto replied as he patted on Sasuke's back with a huge grin on his face. He looked at the clock and saw that it was only four thirty and their session was suppose to end at seven.

Sasuke was a little hurt to see Naruto look at the time, thinking that the blond wanted to leave. He looked at the blond and said, "You can go if you want, Naruto. I will still pay you up to seven o'clock."

Naruto, though oblivious at times, was rather good at reading people—he picked up a tone of disappointment in Sasuke's voice. On instinct he placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and grinned, "Oh, it's not that, Sasuke. I was just noticing how quickly time seems to pass when I'm around you."

All Sasuke could do was nod and smile at the blond.

"So what else do you need me to do around here?"

Sasuke exhaled as he looked at all the work he still had to do, "Well, really you are done. All I need to do is translate these measurements into a metal frame for the clay."

"Well, I could stay here and help you with the welding and stuff. If you pay me for up to seven… then that means you have me up to seven, right?" Naruto grinned noticing how Sasuke's disposition elevated at the offer.

Sasuke had hoped he heared right. He was actually being offered help—the only things most people offered him in his life were money or praise—but never really physical help. "You would really help me? Even though you don't have to?"

Naruto smiled at Sasuke's surprised expression, "Yeah! Come on let's get started." He then moved to get his jeans and put them back on, opting to leave his shirt off because he didn't want to sweat out his shirt while working with the metal.

As Sasuke looked at Naruto walk towards the scraps of metal on the floor, he realized that this boy was one of those people he wished he had in his life. Someone real, someone with a real smile, and real words. To Sasuke, being around Naruto was like being exposed to fresh air for the first time—he relaxed him and infused a new kind of energy in him. He could feel his heart urging his body to follow the blond and realized that his heart was growing quite fond of the blond.

For the next two and a half hours, the two worked on getting the metal frame to match the measurements Sasuke took. There was a lot more work than both had anticipated because bending the metal took quite a bit of energy and muscle—which began to show an hour and a half into the metal work because both boys' chest and arms were sore. Also, the welding created a lot of heat which made both boys sweat. Naruto was glad he opted to go shirtless because even without it he was already glistening with sweat droplets. He looked to see how Sasuke was doing and saw that the dark haired boy had a wet area around his chest and neck.

The artist pulled the welding mask up and wiped his face with his shirt. He then turned the welder off and placed it down and looked over at Naruto. "I think this is all we're going to do for today. My body feels like it went through a grinder." He then pulled off the dark shirt, exposing his porcelain skin to the blond boy. Upon doing so, he continued to wipe off his face and hair with the t-shirt. The framework they completed was only that of the lower body—a little above the thighs. The wires were joined as vertical structures and then wrapped around by thinner wires to hold them together. As Naruto looked at the partial structure, he was impressed with the work that he and Sauske were able to do together.

Naruto couldn't help but study the gleaming body in front of him. He really didn't expect the Uchiha to have such a lean and sinewy body which was tense from the physical exertion of bending the metal wires.

Sasuke was still drying off his face and hair with his shirt and once he was done threw it on a chair beside him. Naruto had to admit that Sasuke was probably THE most beautiful boy he had ever seen. The way his dark hair and eyes contrasted with his pale skin made the boy's features more bold and defined. However, out of all his attributes, Naruto found that Sasuke's occasional smiles were his favorite because he knew that each one was created by a different and individual moment with Naruto.

Sasuke moved toward Naruto, but instead of looking directly at the blond, he looked off to the side, "Thanks, Naruto, for helping me."

"It was nothing, Sasuke," Naruto reassured, then chuckled, "plus it was kind of fun."

Sasuke looked at the laughing blond and joined him, "Hehe, yeah, I guess it kind of was."

"So we have an hour left before I am officially done. Is there anything else you need me to do," asked Naruto.

Sasuke desperately wished there was something else for them to do. It would be such a drastic transition to go from the blond's presence to being alone in the studio again. With a look of defeat, Sasuke replied, "No, I don't think so, but like I said, I'll pay you up until seven anyway."

"You really don't have to, Sa---"

The dark haired artist interrupted him, "No, I insist." And with that he pulled out his wallet and pulled out two hundred and fifty dollars and gave it to Naruto. "Please take it."

Naruto nodded realizing that there was no way to convince Sasuke otherwise. "So what are you going to do now, Sasuke?"

"Relax and probably get something to eat."

The blond once again sensed loneliness in Sasuke's voice. "Well since you paid me for an hour, how about I join you for some dinner huh?"

Sasuke felt insulted and grateful at the same time—he didn't want Naruto to go with him out of pity, but he did appreciate his kindness. "Naruto, you seriously don't need to hang out with me just because I gave you money. I'll be---"

It was now Naruto's turn to interrupt the broody artist, "I want to hang out with you because I want to OKAY? Plus I'm hungry as hell." The blond had tried to reassure Sasuke that he was being honest by looking directly into Sasuke's dark eyes. "Now let's go before I implode from hunger."

Sasuke could only nod and smile in reaction to the firm tone and honesty in Naruto's voice. He thought to himself,_ 'This is the second time today he's done something he didn't need to. First it was helping me with the metal work, and now he's going to go eat with me because he wants to… not because he needs to or is paid to." _Sasuke recalled the many times his parents would hire 'friends' for him in hopes that it would help him be more social, rather it usually ended up with the hired friend leaving in tears.

Both boys put on shirts before meeting up at the front door. Naruto was standing with his back on the wall beside the door waiting for Sasuke. "Hey come on.. I really am hungry!"

Sasuke, who was making his way towards Naruto, said, "Coming, coming. Are you really that hung—"

His question was disrupted by the blond's rumbling stomach. Sasuke looked at Naruto who had placed a hand over his stomach, "See I told you…"

The dark eyed boy chuckled, "Okay. Sorry about that. I know this diner a few minutes walk from here."

"Thank god! I couldn't wait much longer!"

As they made their way to the diner, Naruto babbled on about what he was going to order—he had a craving for a large burger with fries with a large strawberry shake. Sasuke, on the other hand, wanted a grilled chicken sandwich and coffee.

Sasuke still couldn't help but wonder how the hell Naruto could eat like a pig, yet have a body of an athlete. To him, it just didn't make sense, nor was it fair. He remembered how pudgy he was as a child and how his parents had gone to tremendous trouble just to get him to become thin. 'Keeping up appearances,' is what his parents called it. Eventually, they got him a personal cook and a trainer while he was in high school, where he had dropped all the weight. To his surprise, he adopted the eating habits after high school and had still exercised slightly to keep himself in shape. But the boy beside him, merely ate… ate and laughed.

Once they got into the diner, the two sat at a booth by the window and made their orders. During the meal, Sasuke shared his dream of becoming an artist and traveling the world while Naruto told him about how he wanted to become an actor. They also shared the occasional laugh while also exchanging smart remarks. If anyone were watching the two interact, they would probably think that they were long time friends.

Upon finishing the meal, Naruto asked, "What are you doing tonight, Sasuke?"

"Like most nights, I'll probably just stay at home and read a book or something."

"How about coming out to the bar I'm working at tonight?"

Sasuke raised a brow, "Station 4? Really? You want me to come? Aren't you going to be busy working at the bar?"

Naruto reassured, "Wednesdays usually aren't too busy. Plus if anything you could just sit by the bar and hang out with me. I'll get you a few drinks, plus I want to introduce you to my roommate Neji. It'll be fun, trust me!"

Knowing how much the blond had done for him within the past few hours, Sasuke wanted to return the favor. The dark eyed boy grinned, "Alright, but if I get bored I reserve the right to leave."

"Don't worry that won't happen with me around," Naruto exclaimed.

"So what's the plan then?"

"Well, we go back to your place and you can get your clothes for tonight. Then we go to my place to get meet Neji and get ready to go out."

Sasuke nodded in agreement. 'This will be an interesting night,' he thought.

With that, the two paid for their meals and began what was to be a rather memorable night for Sasuke. This was his first time going to a gay club.

TBC

Phew, hopefully my writing hasn't gone completely to hell during my little hiatus, so please excuse me if I sound rather… well not myself. Please leave reviews… I DO love hearing from you all :D


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